Red Eye Romance
by Chi Briar
Summary: This is my version of how the story goes. I have tried to stay as true to the movie as possible with a few adjustments, mainly a romance between Jackson Rippner and Lisa Resiert.
1. Chapter One: Grandma

**Disclaimer: **I sadly own nothing of the Red Eye movie. Absolutely nothing. The only part of this that I own is the few OCs and the idea. I make nothing out of this besides pure entertainment.

Red Eye Romance, a Fanfiction:

Chapter One - Grandma

Lisa Reisert stepped out of her house with brisk steps as she headed out to her car, her auburn curls bouncing behind her. As she pulled out of the driveway she was completely oblivious of the black Lexus across the street that pulled out and followed her.

"Lisa, I'm so glad you are here!" Cynthia cried, the normally flustered girl looking as flustered as normal as she tried to calm down an unhappy couple.

"Cynthia, what's the problem?" she hadn't really expected to have to deal with a problem as soon as she walked into the Lux Atlantic but it seemed that work wasn't going to give her time to wake up.

"I can't figure out how to log into the reservation list!" Cynthia was practically in tears, "These people say they have a reservation but I can seem to find any reservations in the system!"

"Cynthia, it's alright. I can show you…"

Jackson Rippner watched through the glass doors to the hotel as Lisa calmed a strawberry blond girl down and dealt with the angry guests easily. "That's right, Leese. Be the manager. After all, if you weren't a manager I wouldn't be here right now, would I?" He looked away from the hotel and drove out of the parking lot.

"See you after work," he muttered.

Lisa pulled out of the hotel parking lot at 12:49. The workaholic in her was proud of the fact she had stayed 2 hours and 49 minutes overtime to help her employees figure out the new software but her true self was scolding her for jeopardizing her sleep and sanity.

What Lisa really needed was to take a break from everything. Go home, grab a drink and watch some late night classical movie. "Grab a drink?" Lisa muttered to herself, "Sounds good." She made a quick decision and pulled into the café at the corner.

As soon as she walked in she was greeted with warmth. Warmth from the people who worked there. Warmth from the crackling fire in the corner of the room. She walked up to the bar and greeted the girl who was working behind the bar.

"Hey Ellizabethe," Lisa gave her a tired smile that the girl returned.

"Hey Lisa, how many times have I told you to call me Elli?"

"Probably too many times to count?" Lisa accepted the drink she didn't order. "Thanks."

"No problem. You're so easy to wait on. Always one grapefruit sea breeze…and this time it's on the house," Elli said as Lisa began to pull out her wallet, "You worked overtime again, you probably need the pick-me-up."

Lisa smiled and raised her drink to Elli as the girl busied herself with other customers.

Jackson smiled as Lisa came out of the bar. "Tough day at work, Leese? I've had a tough 8 weeks of work. Following you around and your oh-so-predictable-boring-schedule…but it will all be over soon."

Lisa was on the way home when she got the call from her Mom. "Hey, Mom, you're calling late," Lisa said cheerfully as she turned onto her street.

"Lisa…Oh god, Lisa…Your grandma, she p-passed away…" Her mom, Katherine, was sobbing so much that Lisa didn't understand what she was saying for a moment but when the message hit Lisa pulled up to the curb and stopped the car 3 blocks before her house.

"Oh god, Mom…"Lisa felt the tears start to roll, hot droplets caressing her face.

"Sweetheart…the funeral is in two days. C-can you make it?"

"Mom, I'll take a flight tomorrow. I'll be there…Just…I just need to get off the phone right now…Bye." Lisa didn't even wait for her Mom to say good bye before she hung up and started sobbing.

Jackson raised an eyebrow. Stopping like this was not normal for Lisa. He couldn't see what was going on in her car as he was parked a few yards away and it was dark but whatever it was must have been pretty serious. Curiosity overpowered him and he grabbed a hold of the laptop that was taking up the passenger seat.

"What are you up to, Leese?" He tapped a few buttons and the computer whirred to life. He opened up a program and plugged his earphones in.

"Hey Cynthia, I'm going to be taking a few days off…" came Lisa's voice from his laptop, the bug in her phone working fine.

"What? What's wrong?" Cynthia could probably hear the unhappiness better than Jackson could over the bug but even to him it was loud and clear that something bad had happened to Lisa.

"My grandma d-died. I'll be taking the next flight out to Texas tomorrow morning. I'll be gone for a week," Lisa choked on a few of the words but otherwise stayed strong. Jackson couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, I'll log it in the system…Oh god, Lisa, I'm so sorry to hear that…If you need to talk abou-"

"I'd rather not talk about it, please. I'm really sorry. I got to go." Lisa hung up quickly.

Jackson raised an eyebrow and closed the laptop. He pulled out his cell phone and pressed a speed dial. "Yes, this is Rippner. I need a ticket for the next airplane from Miami to Texas. Yes, her grandma died. Unless we have confirmation that the job is ready to be done? Didn't think so. In that case I will be with her till you call me again. Thanks." He hung up.

Lisa didn't even take off her clothes that night. She went online, ordered the ticket for the flight, walked over to her bedroom and collapsed on her bed, crying.

Jackson drove back to his hotel for the night. Hoping that he wouldn't have to try to make Lisa call the hotel and help him with his job while they were on the plane.


	2. Chapter Two: Goodbye Hello

**Disclaimer: **I sadly own nothing of the Red Eye movie. Absolutely nothing. The only part of this that I own is the few OCs and the idea. I make nothing out of this besides pure entertainment.

Red Eye Romance, a Fanfiction

Chapter Two - Goodbye Hello

Lisa Reisert let her Mom drive back to her hotel room. She was tired. She was depressed. What she really wanted to do was sleep. Having to deal with her own emotions and the fact that she was trying to help everyone around her was becoming too hard for her. She was glad that she was going to be out of Texas soon but the fact that it was a raging storm outside didn't make the prospect of an airplane flight any less scary.

As tempted as she was to just call in that she wouldn't make it back to Miami for another few days and just spend the extra time sleeping in her hotel room, Lisa knew that Cynthia and the rest of her employees needed her there. She glanced at her watch. She'd have just enough time to pack her stuff and catch a taxi to the airport.

"Lisa, darling, I'm so glad you could make it. It's what she would have wanted," her Mom stopped in front of the hotel.

"I know, Mom. I'll try to visit soon. I love you," Lisa tried to put all her confidence and happy energy into that one sentence.

"Love you, too, baby…I'm so glad you are okay. You've been so strong through all of this," her Mom got her worried look on again, "Are you sure you're okay. You can stay another night. I'll pay for the ticket."

"Mom, I'm okay. I miss my work. I can just sleep on the flight, it's the red eye, anyway," Lisa said, getting out of the car into the rain.

"Bye sweetie!"

Lisa waved as she ran to get packing.

Jackson Rippner was watching as Lisa ran for the dryness of the hotel when his cell phone rang.

"Hello, Rippner here."

"It's ready. It'll happen at 5:30AM Miami time."

Jackson took a deep breath. Showtime.

"Will you be able to get her to make the call?" The voice that came over the phone was excited.

"Of course…When do you want me to make her call?" Jackson was just as excited.

"In two hours."

"Ah…fuck. We'll be on a plane." Jackson began thinking.

"Will it cause a problem?" The voice was instantly worried.

"No…Get me an aisle seat next to her."

"Consider it done. We've already got the other guy at Joe Reisert's house."

"Great, I'll contact him and let him know my plans." Jackson was about to hang up the phone when he decided to add one last thing, "I guess I will be using Mr. Reisert's wallet."

"Already got a plan?"

"Yes. The only thing I want from you now is that seat."

"The ticket is in your email, waiting. You're in 18F, aisle seat."

Jackson hung up and walked into the hotel to pack.

Lisa should have been there an hour ago. Or at least, that's what she thought. She liked to be early for things but traffic and the rain was preventing the taxi driver from getting her there.

Her cell phone rang and the caller ID flashed "Cynthia". _Again? _Lisa couldn't help but think as she answered it.

"Lisa Reisert."

"Lisa? Hi." Cynthia sounded as stressed as normal and Lisa couldn't help but wish the girl would calm down and not freak out over the slightest problem. "I'm so sorry to call, but I didn't know what to do. I have a situation."

"No, no, Cynthia, slow down. What's the problem?"

"Bob and Marianne Taylor."

"Yep, they're regulars." Lisa frowned.

"Yeah well, I think I sort of erased their reservation. I was never checked out on this new system." Cynthia was talking faster and faster as she freaked out. Lisa could here Mrs. Taylor in the background: "Did I mention I had a _confirmed_ reservation? This is my receipt. I downloaded it off the internet _myself_."

"I know, Mrs. Taylor, just calm down," Cynthia said, her voice strained.

"No, no, no. Don't say that. No…" Lisa pulled the phone away from her ear and sighed as she heard the Taylors rant about calming down. She put the phone back to her ear to hear Cynthia.

"…so sorry. Lisa?"

"Cynthia, tell them one more minute. They'll be very happy. You promise."

"One more minute. You'll be very happy. I promise." Cynthia repeated obediently.

"We better!" Lisa heard the Taylors say.

"Now, enter my PIN. Its 7-8-8…Hang on." Lisa had a call from another phone. She looked and saw it was her dad. "Hey dad, hold on. Can you hold on?" "Sure," her dad said. She switched back to Cynthia. "Okay, 7-8-8-4_LReisert."

"Lisa, I'm so sorry for calling."

"No, no, no, it's fine, it's fine." Lisa calmed Cynthia down and told her what to do next.

Already waiting at the airport, Jackson closed his laptop and pulled his earphones out. He had the information he needed. He needed to know Lisa's PIN or he wouldn't be able to know if she was lying or not.

He couldn't help smile when he saw her cab pull up and watch her get out. Things were going perfectly. "Ready or not Leese, here I come." He muttered as he followed her inside.

He watched as she traversed the crowded airport with a cell phone clamped to her ear. Watched her move swiftly to check her flight and see it was delayed. Couldn't help but smile behind his newspaper as she gave up her book to an elderly woman in front of her in line.

Jackson had never been so close to Lisa and after trying so hard to not be seen by her it was a bit of an adrenaline rush to be so near but he was distracted in his inspection of Lisa by the airport employee at the front.

"Once again, anyone who is scheduled on the flight to Atlantic, if you want to get out of Dallas tonight, come to the front of the line at this time!"

"Excuse me! You're letting them go, but we've been standing here for an hour? How does that happen?" An angry man at the front of the line next to Lisa said.

"If we don't re-book, they'll miss their flight." The woman tried to calm him down. Jackson couldn't help but think that Lisa would have been able handle it better.

"It doesn't matter that you canceled my first flight and re-routed me twice?"

"I understand…" The woman said and Jackson couldn't help but shake his head, watching Lisa manage unhappy customers made this lady seem very unprofessional. Speaking of Lisa, he glanced over to see her frowning at the man.

"Just get your boss, this is ridiculous!" the angry man practically yelled.

"Sir, please don't make her do that. She's doing the best she can," Lisa stepped in.

"I don't think I was talking to you." The man said rudely. Jackson's eyes narrowed.

"No, I realize that…" Lisa started.

"Listen, I'm just trying—"

"Please, sir," Jackson stepped in. He was sure that his managerial way of calming people would be much more helpful in this case and may even open a conversation with Lisa, "Um, she is the only one between us getting out and anarchy."

"Yeah, but she's not the one in—," The man started to turn away from Jackson but he grabbed the man's arm.

"She's exhausted, she's worked 18 hours, and she suspects we all hate her just as much as you do, so why don't you just give her a break and let her get back to her job which I bet is a lot more thankless than yours."

The man stared into Jackson's cold blue eyes.

"This airline sucks…" He said before walking away.

The old lady in front of Lisa was called forward and he watched Lisa run to give her the umbrella she forgot. "Thank you," she said to Lisa, and then looking past to Jackson, "And thank you, as well!"

Jackson nodded as Lisa moved back towards him. He watched her return to her spot then look back at him. Her mouth opened and he felt a rush of pride as she was about to initiate their first contact.


	3. Chapter Three: Contact

**Disclaimer: **I sadly own nothing of the Red Eye movie. Absolutely nothing. The only part of this that I own is the few OCs and the idea. I make nothing out of this besides pure entertainment.

Red Eye Romance, a Fanfiction

Chapter Three - Contact

"Yeah, thank you," Lisa said, looking at him, a smile on her face.

"Oh, not at all, that was just back up. You got the ball rolling…" He smiled back.

"Oh, yeah. Reflex, I guess." She blushed a bit at the praise.

"Why is that?" Jackson asked.

"I work in a hotel. I deal with people like that all the time." Lisa said and Jackson appreciated her honesty. Even though he knew her not to be the type to lie to make herself sound more important than she was it still made him smile.

"The Marriott? The Hilton?" Jackson pretended to guess, even though he knew quite well exactly where she worked.

"The Lux Atlantic. It's in-"

"Miami," Jackson finished for her, watching her smile at his recognition of her hotel, "Right, I know it well." _In fact, I may know it just as well as you do…_

"Yeah," Lisa's smile widened and Jackson could tell that she was warming up to his bordering-on-flirtation conversation.

"So, you're on this-"

"Very delayed flight to Miami. Yeah," Lisa looked back at the sign saying the flight was still delayed and frowned. She turned back to him, "You?"

"Yeah, sadly, yeah," Jackson said. He paused to think about it before continuing, "But you know what? That's why God created the Tex-Mex. Best nachos in the airport and right across from our gate."

"Good tip. Thanks," She smiled and Jackson almost wanted to chuckle as he saw her attraction to him. This job was getting interesting. He had never seen her react well before when men tried to be social with her. Made him wonder why; she was, after all, very pretty.

"Save you a seat?" He pushed the flirtation just a bit further.

"Oh…um…" Lisa's smile dimmed a bit. He'd pushed it too far for her comfort.

He backtracked. "Yeah, that was…I thought since we're on the same flight…I didn't' mean to invade your personal space."

"No, it's just…I have a few calls to make."

The lady checking bags looked at Lisa, "Ma'am, I can help you over here!"

"No, I understand. Go ahead. Have a good flight." Jackson said. _Even if I won't see you at the bar I will be seeing you soon enough anyway._

"Okay. You too."

Lisa glanced back at him as she walked away and smiled. He was attractive. He would have been exactly her type if she had a one but ever since the incident she didn't socialize well to men. She walked up to get her bag checked and couldn't help but feel a bit regretful at not accepting the man's invitation.

Walking away from the check-in desk she saw the man at the bar, an empty seat next to him. He was relaxed, ordering something. She couldn't help but notice his lean body and how the business suit was professional and nicely form fitting. Maybe she didn't need to regret a lost chance? Maybe she had time to go back and talk to him a bit more before the flight.

She amused herself with thinking about flirting with him. He said he was going to Miami as well and she day dreamed slightly about giving him her phone number so he might contact her while he was there. She turned away, still thinking about the possibility…and reality crashed down on her in the form of a lady's iced latte.

She calmed down the lady, assuring her that everything was quite fine, and then headed off to the bathroom to clean up. Lisa attempted to dab the mess with water and paper towels but was sorely disappointed when the coffee stain wouldn't come out all the way. She began rummaging through her pack for something else to wear and decided on a white wrap-around sweater.

While changing she saw her reflection in the mirror. She had a nice flat tummy and she assumed that she looked decent enough for men to want her. In fact, she'd never had a problem with men wanting her or not it was the…Her eyes rested on the long, jagged scar over her right breast. She didn't trust men anymore. One man had ruined that for her.

She shook her head. _It will never happen again_, she told herself. She finished dressing and walked back out into the main airport area. Like a magnet to metal her eyes were drawn to the man from earlier. She couldn't help it. Somehow, even though she didn't trust men she was attracted to him. Despite all. She walked up to the empty seat next to him.

"Oh, hi," the man said, putting down is drink and greeting her with a warm smile.

"Hi…" She felt a little less frightened by his grin. "Is this seat taken?"

"No, it's all yours!" He said, staring at her with those beautiful pale eyes, "So, did you get your calls made?"

"Yep," She felt guilty for the lie, "No more calls…"

"Good," he said, widening his smile to show a perfect set of teeth, "What will you have?"

"No, it's…um, I'm okay," she said, feeling as if this was a sort of miniature date.

"If I can guess," he said.

She looked at him curiously, "Okay."

"Ummmm, I'm feeling vodka," he said, looking at her, "Definitely sweetened…cosmo?"

Lisa made a face.

"No. Way too common…a screwdriver? No, no, no. Way too boring…" He looked thoughtful, "That leaves me with the simplicity of grapefruit or the complexity of the pineapple…"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Grapefruit see breeze," He smiled.

She almost let him win but for some reason, she decided to lie.

"Can I have a bay breeze?" She asked the bartender. Turning back to the man she smiled, "Very impressive talent though. Very close."


End file.
